


Missing

by hanzoshimadas



Series: More Than Just Numbers, We're Brothers [4]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Brother Feels, Human Experimentation, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Protective Older Brothers, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-11-03 22:12:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17886092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanzoshimadas/pseuds/hanzoshimadas
Summary: When Klaus was younger, him and Ben were kidnapped by a secret government science facility.





	Missing

**Author's Note:**

> As with all my fics, the number order of the siblings refers to their age. Diego is an older brother to Klaus and Ben.

"24."

Klaus growled.

"That is not my name."

The director walked close, fisting a hand in Klaus' hair and pulling it tight.

"Freaks don't have names, they have numbers."

He smirked, testing the restraints on his wrists, sick of being stuck in this stupid chair.

"Do I even want to know what happened to the other twenty-three? Or maybe even why you're only up to twenty-five, has someone been slacking?"

"We'll find them, in time, because you're going to lead us to them." The director smiled.

"Suuuure I am. Do you even know how many people there are?"

"Starting in 1989, five freaks were born all around the world, another five followed each year for eight years in total before a final three were born in 1997. We knew The Umbrella Academy was full of you freaks, but due to an error we only managed to grab two of you. Don't worry though, we will be launching a new operation soon to bring in the last of those siblings of yours, then we can push our numbers up to thirty."

"You know, you could've just said yes, I didn't need an entire life story."

"With them, we'd only be thirteen away from ridding this Earth of filth like you."

"Why are you so obsessed?"

"There needs to be a balance, and your kind, they tear the very fabric of that intricate tapestry."

"But we haven't done anything!"

"Not yet."

Klaus scoffed.

"So what, you think we're going to become some superpowered army sweeping across the globe?" The thought made him giggle. "You're actually insane, you know that?"

"You can never be too careful."

The director looked at the monitor.

"And you're a tricky one, 24. You're the rubix cube we just can't solve."

"Well they are pretty hard." Klaus grinned. "Ben and I used to peel off the stickers until Diego found out and stole it back."

That got him a smack across the face.

"Shut up!"

"Jesus, that was a bit harsh."

"Do you ever shut up?"

"I thought you would know the answer to that after three years."

"It is our job to deal with you lot. One freak at a time."

"You say that like you don't get a kick out of all this. Torturing kids, that's low. We're all just the same to you, aren't we? Is that how you treat anyone who doesn't fit your idea of normal, throw them in here regardless if they're a freak or not."

"Someone has to do it otherwise there would be chaos." The director turned back to the monitor. "This is getting us nowhere." He pressed numerous buttons on the console.

"Gah!" Klaus screamed as electricity passed through him, bucking in the chair he was bound to, screwing his eyes closed as he bit his lip through the pain, drawing blood.

"Let's try this again. What are your powers, 24?"

"That's, not..." He tried to find breaths. "...my name, fuckwit."

The director pressed the button again once again causing Klaus to cry out in pain.

"I can do this all day 24."

Klaus grinned a bloody smile.

"So can I."

* * *

Diego paced back and forth in the living room of the academy.

"We're running out of options here, why can no one see that!"

"What are we supposed to do? We can't get into that facility, and we don't even know for sure that they're being held there." Luther stated.

"Then we need to find out instead of sitting here on our asses." He sighed. "It's been three years, we have to do something."

"Okay. What's the plan?" Allison asked.

* * *

"KLAUS! KLAUS! KLAUS!" Screamed the spirits as his hands clawed at his ears, trying to block out their torturous cries.

A hand shook his shoulder causing him to gasp awake.

"Klaus..."

It was Ben.

"You're okay."

Klaus scoffed.

"Define okay."

Ben smirked.

"Okay as in you're still trapped in a secret government facility being tortured and tested on, but not in the mausoleum with those ghosts."

He chuckled before noticing the scared expression on his brother's face.

"What's wrong?"

"It's my turn tomorrow." Ben answered, truthfully.

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Klaus answered, determinedly.

"Klaus, no, they've been doing shit to you for the past few days."

"I don't care, I can control my powers and hide them, you can't."

"But-."

"Hey, you can't argue with me, I'm older." Klaus smirked.

"That's bullshit." Ben shook his head with a laugh.

"Should've been born first then. Now come on, we both need more sleep."

* * *

The next day came and by the end of it they practically had to scrape Klaus up from the chair to dump him back in his cell.

Everything hurt.

He heard a small gasp before the cell doors electronic lock buzzed behind him.

Gentle hands touch his shoulder, clearly checking him over for injuries.

"You're an idiot, you know that? What were you thinking?!"

"I needed a distraction, it seemed like a good idea at the time, and it worked didn't it, they took me rather than you." Klaus winced as he dragged himself over to the wall and pushed himself upright, leaning against it. "Can we not argue, please?" He asked, softly.

Ben nodded.

"Sure, Klaus."

Klaus offered a smile.

"Thanks for..."

"No, no, no, no, no..." He interrupted. "You don't thank me for this."

"Okay."

Ben sat down on the other side of the cell looking lost.

Klaus sighed.

"Come here..."

His not-so-little anymore little brother crossed over to him, allowing Klaus to wrap an arm around his shoulders and pull him against his side.

"We will get out of here, okay."

"We've been stuck here for so long that the thought of getting out just seems like a lost cause."

"You can't think like that, okay? Either we'll get ourselves out of here, or Diego and the others will find a way."

Ben nodded.

"It's just hard to stay positive."

"I know."

* * *

One week later and Klaus was going out of his mind, the voices in his head wouldn't shut up and it was starting to get annoying.

"Uhhhhh, shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Ben furrowed an eyebrow.

"I didn't say anything."

"Not you, them, those stupid ghosts from the mas-..."

Klaus' eyes widened.

A guy who looked to be around Luther's age was stood just across the cell.

"Klaus... That's your name, right?"

He nodded, slowly.

Ben furrowed an eyebrow.

"Klaus, who are you talking to?"

"SHUT UP IN THERE!" Bellowed a voice from outside the cell before the lights went out and they were thrown into darkness.

The guy was gone.

"Well that's something." Klaus exhaled.

* * *

The number of his visitors slowly began to grow over the week that passed, Klaus coming to familiarise himself with each of them.

The next day, the sound of footsteps awoke him.

"Ben?" He mumbled, sleepily.

"Klaus!" His brother screamed.

Klaus' eyes flew open as Ben was dragged from the cell, kicking and screaming against the guard's hold.

"Klaus, help me!"

Tears fell down his little brother's cheeks as he begged.

Getting to his feet in seconds, Klaus launched himself onto the back of the guard still stood by the door, managing to land enough hits to take him down to the ground.

"Ben!" He screamed, sprinting down the hallway of the facility, desperately trying to locate his brother.

The place was a maze of plain white corridors and he soon found himself hopelessly lost and unable to hear Ben.

Glancing back a few times to see if he had evaded the guards, Klaus was reminded that he was still running as he smacked into something. Or someone to be precise.

"Woah." The guy was wearing a hazmat suit and immediately went to take Klaus' arm.

He panicked, landing a punch into the guy's stomach before sprinting off.

He had to find Ben.

Reaching the end of the hallway, he rounded the corner to find himself surrounded by guards.

"Shit..." Klaus cursed, out of breath before fire erupted in his chest.

"Gah!" He moaned, placing a hand to the source of the fire, his hand immediately coming away a deep shade of red as blood flowed from the wound. Klaus tumbled to the ground in a heap, unable to keep himself on his feet as his legs turned to jelly beneath him.

A guard took him by the arms, landing one last punch across his face before dropping him back down to the marble floor. The other guards proceeded to kick him over and over, Klaus curling up, tucking his legs against his stomach as he tried to defend himself against their blows, his blood staining the white floor.

"Get him up!" Came the familiar voice of the director.

Klaus was yanked up by a hand at the back of his neck, moaning in pain as he weakly struggled against the grip, despite knowing how hopeless his efforts were.

He wasn't a fight, never had been, and especially not after the malnourishment and muscle loss he'd suffered as a result of the facilities starvation routines.

"Where... gah, where is Ben?"

"That doesn't concern you." The director stated.

"Screw, you..." Klaus spat the blood from his mouth, staining his shirt.

He saw the guard's eyes widen before he found himself with the director's hand constricting his throat. He kicked, desperate for breath.

"You little shit!" The director growled. "You are nothing."

Klaus clawed at his hands gasping uselessly for air.

"What's that?" He mocked. "Sorry, I can't hear you." The director laughed before releasing his grip, allowing Klaus to flop to the floor. "Put him back in his cell."

* * *

Sneaking out the back door of the facility, the man in the hazmat suit pulled his phone out of his pocket, fumbling slightly as he dialled a number.

He removed the mask from his head and placed the phone to his ear.

"Allison, it's me."

"Diego, what happened? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Just listen."

"Okay."

"It's Klaus, I found him."

* * *

Three days later and Klaus was going out of his mind.

The only visit he'd had was from the facilities medic to remove the bullet and cauterise the wound.

He hadn't seen or heard anything about his brother and he felt sick with the scenarios his mind was creating.

"Klaus."

Klaus felt lightheaded, struggling to steady himself as he threw his hand against the wall to stay upright. He shook his head, tears threatening to spill down his cheeks.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no..." He whimpered, screwing his eyes closed as he turned around to see.

Ben.

Klaus threw a hand over his mouth as he growled, slamming his fist against the ground.

"It wasn't your fault."

"Stop it." His tone was low.

"Klaus, it..."

"I said, stop it." Klaus exhaled angrily. "This is my fucking fault."

"You didn't know they were going to do this."

"I should have stopped them!" He shouted.

Ben sat down in front of his brother.

"It wasn't your fault."

Klaus couldn't hold onto his composure any longer, burying his head in his hands as he broke down in tears.

"You can do this, Klaus." Ben encouraged.

Just under a week later and the ghosts had returned.

"I can't, I'm not... I don't have the strength I used to."

"That's why you're going to use theirs. They want to help you, so let them."

Klaus scrubbed a hand down his face.

"How do I even do that? I've only ever talked to ghosts, that's completely different to controlling them, or whatever the hell this actually entails."

"Just try, there'll be a way."

Klaus paused, looking around the room.

"There are so many of you. I'm sorry there's not more I could do to help you guys."

"We've resigned to our fates, but we'll be damned if we let those monsters take another life." A French guy stated.

"This facility is evil, we would love nothing more than to help you burn this place to the ground." The Norwegian girl added.

Klaus looked overwhelmed.

Ben sat down next to him and offered a soft smile.

"I know you can do it."

He took a breath.

"Okay, I'll try." Klaus turned to the ghosts. "So here's the plan."

* * *

"I managed to sneak in there using one of the staff ID cards. Hopefully they haven't noticed so it should still work. I'll get us in and then we split up to look for Klaus and Ben, they should be in the cell block at the far side of the facility." Diego explained.

"How many kids are in there?"

"I didn't see anyone besides Klaus."

"So there could be more?"

Diego sighed.

"I honestly don't think so. This place, it gave me the creeps more than anywhere I've ever been. It seems like they're rounding them up."

"To experiment on them?"

Diego nodded.

"I found the files they had and it was just names and powers. They were cataloguing them."

"We need to get them out of there." Allison got to her feet.

"We hit them tonight, there seems to be less staff."

* * *

Klaus paced around the cell, shaking his hands while taking deep breaths as he tried to psych himself up for what they were about to do.

"You ready?" A Finnish girl asked.

"Who knows?" He grinned before nodding.

The girl smiled.

Klaus' hands began to glow, he walked towards the door and placed his hand flat against where he knew the lock to be on the other side.

The girl closed her eyes before a pulse of energy whooshed through the air, breaking a hole through the door.

"Ahah!" He grinned, raising a hand.

The Finnish girl high-fived him.

"Let's go."

* * *

Hiding out in the staff block of the facility, Diego looked down at his watch.

"We need to get ourselves into uniform, according to that schedule there should be a changeover right about..."

A group of staff members walked in talking to each other.

"Now." Diego smiled before the three of them jumped in action, knocking the staff out.

* * *

Klaus used the wall to keep himself upright as he made his way down the hallway.

He still didn't know where he was, or if he was even heading in the right direction.

The alarms began to blare around him.

"No, no, no..." He muttered.

"Klaus, you gotta' run!" Ben instructed as he appeared beside him.

"Which was is it?"

"Down here."

He followed his brother along various identical hallways before they found themselves cornered.

Klaus looked spent, really having to grip the wall hard down.

One of the guards walked forward and placed their hand on his shoulder before removing their mask.

His eyes widened.

"Diego!" Klaus' tone was almost childlike as he threw himself at his brother.

Diego closed his eyes, holding on tight.

"It's okay... it's okay." He reassured softly. "We're gonna' get you out of here."

Luther walked forward.

"Where's Ben?"

Klaus looked broken as he couldn't find words, hands shaking as his lip wobbled.

"He... he uhh..."

Allison's hand shot to her mouth as tears appeared in her eyes.

"We need to go, now." Diego stated, wrapping his arm around his little brother's shoulders to take his weight before helping him out the back door.

Klaus gasped as they reached the outside world, taking a huge breath as he inhaled lung fulls of clean, fresh air.

Diego hurried him to the car, holding the door open for him as he climbed in the back.

"Let's go."

Klaus rested his head against the window as he stared up at the facility.

The engine roared before they pulled away leaving his nightmare for the past three years in the distance.

* * *

It felt like he'd slept for a whole week by time he made the effort to trek down to the kitchen of the academy.

Diego, Luther, and Allison all silenced as he entered.

"How are you feeling?" Asked Diego.

Klaus took a seat at the table.

"How d'you think?"

He scrubbed a hand down his face, picking at the hem of his shirt.

It was weird to be wearing his own clothes again after so long stuck wearing the drab inmate uniform at the facility.

Allison took a breath.

"Klaus, what happened to..."

"I don't want to talk about it." He shut the topic down, slinking a hand across the table to steal a piece of egg from Diego.

Diego pushed the whole plate across to him.

"Thanks."

Luther stood up and walked off.

Allison looked close to tears as she did the same.

Then it was just him and Diego.

"I... it's so good to have you back."

"It's good to be back." Klaus scoffed. "Which is something I never thought I'd say about this place."

"Just take some time, you earned it."

He nodded.

"Yeah, thanks."

Klaus offered a smile as Diego patted him on the shoulder before walking out of the kitchen.

He exhaled, burying his head in his hands.

"You did it!"

Klaus turned to see Ben sat on the chair next to him at the table. His eyes widened.

"How... how are you?"

"Did you really think I would leave your ass?"

Klaus smiled.


End file.
